Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure, for example, relates to wireless communication systems, and more particularly to resource partitioning functions for backhaul operations in a millimeter wave wireless communication system.
Description of Related Art
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include code-division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time-division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) systems, and orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) systems.
By way of example, a wireless multiple-access communication system may include a number of base stations, each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple communication devices, otherwise known as user equipments (UEs). A base station may communicate with UEs on downlink channels (e.g., for transmissions from a base station to a UE) and uplink channels (e.g., for transmissions from a UE to a base station). A base station may communicate, either directly or indirectly with other base stations over backhaul links.
Base stations operating in the millimeter wave (mmW) frequency ranges, e.g., 28 GHz, 40 GHz, 60 GHz, etc., may be associated with a reduced coverage area (e.g., a smaller geographic footprint, directional transmissions only, etc.), which may result in deployment of a much larger number of base stations to provide acceptable coverage areas. Such large-scale mmW base station deployments may impact the quality and availability of links to a network entity. For example, some mmW base stations may be deployed in areas with limited bandwidth links to a network entity and, in some examples, no links to a network entity. In a conventional cellular communication system, base stations may rely on a wired connection to a network entity and, therefore, may not typically perform discovery over the wireless medium. In a mmW wireless communication system that includes base stations having limited or no connectivity to a network entity, backhaul operations may rely more on direct backhaul wireless communication links between mmW base stations. However, such backhaul operations may require a coordination of resources that satisfies the backhaul operational requirements and yet ensures adequate resources are available for communicating with UEs, e.g., for meeting access requirements. Moreover, such wireless backhaul operations may provide a more beneficial deployment scheme for a dense population of mmW base stations, e.g., provide a lower cost and more feasible option to installing fiber optic communication lines to each mmW base station.